Well if it really is this "Redguard" DLC, then finally - a DLC which actually seems important, and not just silly vampires or other silly dragonborn - back to the main story thank you!

Seriously. They NEED to address the Thalmor issue more in Skyrim. Adding in the one region that's managed to successfully fend off the Thalmor SOLO makes a lot of sense.

I was hoping that with the Dragonborn's help we'd be able to oust the Thalmor from Skyrim (which would seem more in line with helping the Stormcloaks since the Empire still honors the concordat) and ally with Hammerfell.

---------- Post added 2013-01-18 at 06:33 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Lizbeth

Well, the main story is killing Alduin and it's over already, the rest are all side stories or long term thing. Civil war and the Thalmor have really nothing to do with the Dragonborn unless they reveal something we dont know yet.

In the grand scheme of things, the return of the Dragons is actually a smaller concern than the war between man and mer.

Originally Posted by High Overlord Saurfang

"I am he who watches they. I am the fist of retribution. That which does quell the recalcitrant. Dare you defy the Warchief? Dare you face my merciless judgement?"

Well, the main story is killing Alduin and it's over already, the rest are all side stories or long term thing. Civil war and the Thalmor have really nothing to do with the Dragonborn unless they reveal something we dont know yet.

True, but honestly - that seemed so... Urgh I don't know - secondary really, when compared to the real conflict, being the whole Empire/Stormcloak/Thalmor thing, the fact that assassination the emperor had no effect was utterly shocking to me, and just reeked of bad story telling.

I meant in how lengthy it is. Yes Alduin was significant but the mer vs. man thing's been going on for thousands of years and is coming to a head right now especially since the Thalmor have gotten control of so many towers. The Thalmor are also attempting to and capable of bringing about the end of the current reality.

Originally Posted by High Overlord Saurfang

"I am he who watches they. I am the fist of retribution. That which does quell the recalcitrant. Dare you defy the Warchief? Dare you face my merciless judgement?"

True, but honestly - that seemed so... Urgh I don't know - secondary really, when compared to the real conflict, being the whole Empire/Stormcloak/Thalmor thing, the fact that assassination the emperor had no effect was utterly shocking to me, and just reeked of bad story telling.

The sense of scope and conflict has always been poorly represented in TES games. In each game everyone will cslmly go about their business despite whatever major conflict or crisis is going on. You drive the plot and very little happens when you aren't around.

In Skyrim alone I am just baffled at stuff like Thalmor hit squads being sent after you but none of the static Thalmor NPCs knowing or caring who you are. Plus the changing of leadership in the holds based on which side you support in the war has so little effect on anything it's frustrating.

Every time I make a character to play through it ends up being a sneaky one with archery max. I'm determined to not touch either tree this play through. Going to try a barbarian warrior type with a 2-H weapon and light armor.

Funny enough, even if I try my darndest to create a sneaky Vampire like character I always end up in full plate with a sword and shield. There's just something about being a tank in Skyrim that I really, truly enjoy.

On that note, perhaps I can share an armor mod I'm working on myself. It's a heavy WIP and is inspired from Chris Lightfellow's armor in Suikoden III. I've been working on it on and off for the last 5 months, since I'm a novice to modding and stuff. I'm also a little embarrassed to share this as it's really not in a pretty state right now. I'm having a realllllllly hard time understanding how to properly apply weights to the mesh, so a lot of the vertices in the armor (mainly in the skirt) are being weighed to the wrong bone! This results, most notably, in "spikes" in the skirt and pauldrons, not very pretty. I'm also using placeholder textures (the skirt in particular is using I think the steel armor CUIRASS texture lol) until I find out how to fix this...

As you can see, the mesh itself looks fine but in-game there are tons and tons of issues. This probably isn't the right place to ask, but does anyone have experience with weighting, or texture design? I could use some help in both areas. I'd never even modeled before until Skyrim inspired me to.

Shit, really? One of the finest first attempts I've ever seen. Keep it up. You will go places.

Wish I could help...

Thanks! The encouragement helps more than you know~
I was surprised at how similar 3D modeling is to actual like...clay modeling. I have a little bit of experience with that, so it was a matter of learning 3DS Max. ...Which took a long time. Don't be too impressed.

I think they fixed a lot of the crashing bugs a long time ago. Last time I played it on ps3 though it was still slowing down in certain areas. This was maybe 4 months ago.

Hmmm, I haven't played since last February when I got the platinum, and the last few hours of that were pretty excruciating. I might patch it up and see if it's any better as I missed the game but the slow-downs and crashes made it unbearable.

Argonians are worst off. Khajiit get some lore love especially since they're allied with the Thalmor currently (and one of the few who do so willingly) but nobody really gives a crap about Argonians cause apparently Black Marsh is uninhabitable by normal folk or something.

Originally Posted by High Overlord Saurfang

"I am he who watches they. I am the fist of retribution. That which does quell the recalcitrant. Dare you defy the Warchief? Dare you face my merciless judgement?"

They just don't seem to be all that significant in Elder Scrolls lore compared to basically any human race or certain elves. Bathesda needs to get on adding more beast race lore to the game.

Actually they shouldn't. While I like the kahjeet and even argonians well enough, I think they're more of a side attraction. Making a whole game centered on them wouldn't be smart if they want it to sell. I have to admit, I wouldn't buy it if I was new to TES games either unless it got really positive reviews. Oblivion used the great graphics(for the time) as well as the cliche medieval fantasy theme and Skyrim the whole viking and dragons theme for promotions because they're popular. But you have to admit that a game based on humanoid cat people living in a desert doesn't sound too appealing for a newcomer..

I'd rather have them make Black March and Elsweyr as DLCs or just make a new game focusing on southern areas with a larger map instead of just one province.

It's about the lore and the setting more than it is about the characters. I don't think anyone got Skyrim on the premise that you'd be playing a human Nord or Oblivion on the premise you'd be playing a human Imperial or Morrowind on the premise that you'd be playing a dark elf.

The Khajiit are a desert people. The game could be graphically astonishing and pretty dang unique considering how few games seem to focus on a desert landscape. And Khajiit lore is also pretty interesting despite how rare it is.

But at the end of the day, I'd agree that them moving away from the central ES dogma that is based around man vs. mer wouldn't be all that great.

P.S. I'm hoping that the next generation consoles will be able to handle open cities and world so we have to deal with less loading screens. PC's are already managing to do it while having a ton shorter loading screens but consoles need to catch up.

Originally Posted by High Overlord Saurfang

"I am he who watches they. I am the fist of retribution. That which does quell the recalcitrant. Dare you defy the Warchief? Dare you face my merciless judgement?"

Actually, open cities is kinda meh.. they make almost no difference anyway. Just save you a loading screen which takes less than a second anyway if you're using SSD. But I'd love to have open buildings instead. TES having no windows and instead having these dim little panels you cant look through bothers me a lot as it not only denies the beautiful views but also shop windows or even the practical look inside a house from a window to see if anyones there before breaking in to rob it:P